When We Were Kings
Ostensibly a documentary about Muhammad Ali�s 1974 championship bout with George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (�The Rumble in the Jungle�), but a much broader and engaging exploration of hero worship, racial divides and the ultimate marriage of PR and symbolism. The Foreman of �When We Were Kings� isn�t the jolly bald guy you see today on TV hawking low-fat grilles. With crazy hair, a crunching punch, and a look that makes him appear that he wants to tear your ears off, Foreman is a junkyard dog, ready to pound Ali into paste. The insights of fight attendees like Norman Mailer and George Plimpton provide a nice spark, but the film really lights up every time Ali appears on-screen or opens his mouth. Nice bonus: great musical moments by James Brown and Miriam Makeba at a concert preceding the fight.
�JD
When We Were Kings
1996, 89 min
Directed by Leon Gast
$10 VHS
$17 DVD
Netflix
